Journey's End
by ohmytheon
Summary: (Fantasy AU) During a journey to the borderlands of their kingdom to talk of peace with a barbaric tribe, Ochako Uraraka, a surprisingly powerful witch in a land where magic is dying, must do her duty to protect Prince Todoroki, even if he seems equally determined to change everything she's known.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** This was supposed to be a one-shot request. It's turned into my fun side-fic for me to write whenever I'm feeling drained of inspiration for my main fics. I'm finally writing for this ship. And it's a fantasy AU! I'm so excited, even if no one else is. lmao

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When Uraraka had been given the order to protect the prince during their journey through the barbarian lands, she had been incredibly displeased. If there was one thing she had learned in her life, it was that royals were arrogant and snotty. They had far too much money than they knew what to do with, spending it frivolously while the little people wanted for more, and thought themselves better than everyone else.

Still, despite her attempts during her childhood to avoid all things royal, as she had gotten older and her magic stronger, the king had seen it fit to bring her to the court. After all, magic was power and power meant a stronger rule. He was already a man who ruled his people with an iron fist and he had ensured that Uraraka was a part of that rule. It hadn't helped that her magic was stronger than most wizards or witches twice her age or more.

After years of war between their country and the large barbarian tribe that hung around their borders, there had been talk of a treaty. Uraraka wouldn't have been interested in it if not for the fact that magic was more prevalent there. She'd even heard talk that they had dragons! Her magic was unique in her world, making people both revere and fear her at times. She felt removed from everyone, especially since she'd been taken from her parents when she was younger and forced to live on the outskirts of the castle like she belonged to the royal family.

Being tasked with the crowned prince's protection had not been a pleasant one, but it afforded the opportunity to leave, spread her wings, and explore a world that she had only dreamed of. If she had to deal with some uppity prince in order to do that, she would suffer it. She had learned to ignore a lot of things in her time after being brought to court. A snotty rich kid who would one day be king would be simple enough to deal with. He probably wouldn't even leave the safety of his horse drawn carriage unless it was to complain. Maybe she could even pretend that she was on some grand adventure instead of babysitting some highborn ponce.

Having really only seen Prince Shouto Todoroki from a distance and at royal functions, being kept away from him, Uraraka had not interacted with him personally. She hadn't been allowed to, seeing as how she wasn't from a highborn family. Although she wasn't lowborn either, it was easier to interact with them. Being stuck in the middle left her in a strange limbo, belonging to neither and making both resent her on some level. She had expected that of Todoroki as well. From what she'd seen of him, he was aloof and cold, allowing very few close to him, even if many highborn girls fawned over him. She supposed he was attractive, even with that mysterious burn on the side of his face, but that was offset by his distant superiority complex.

Of course the prince was nothing like she'd anticipated.

Besides Todoroki, a few other highborn members of the court had come along with them on the journey to hold the treaty talks. They all stayed in the carriage, peeking their heads out to complain or demand something. With Uraraka's position as the mage of their company, nearly all of their orders were directed to her or the head of their guard, a young but very serious knight named Teyna Iida. He was much more intense about the whole thing, but then there had been reports of attacks on caravans and the like. It was partly why the king had decided to speak with barbarian tribe about a peace treaty. They could provide protection on the road for a price and also allow more trade to come in, their lands rich with bounty that they didn't have in their borders.

While most people rode horses, some were forced to walk. Uraraka hated the idea of riding above others that were less fortunate, so she had chosen to walk like many of the lower-born knights and tradesmen. It helped that she was more familiar with them too. She kept her staff on her at all times, just in case, and a small pack filled with potions and herbs should she need them.

As soon as the castle was out of sight, the door to the carriage opened and the prince stepped out effortlessly without even bothering to ask for it to be stopped. She peered at him, expecting him to complain about the heat or bugs, but instead, he asked a young green-haired knight, "Can you retrieve my horse for me?"

Izuku Midoriya was one of the higher-born knights and a close companion of both the prince and many other knights in their company. He was friendly in a way that made people both high and lowborn flock to him. Out of everyone, Uraraka had only seen him act as a friend to Todoroki. Even as the prince remained impassive, Midoriya was often smiling and laughing. He was kind. When many other highborns sneered at her for her lowborn blood and even some of the knights shunned her for her magic, he always went out of his way to speak with her. He was one of the few people in the castle that had made her time bearable in the past. She wondered how someone with such a good heart as him was able to be friends with someone as unapproachable as Todoroki.

Now as they were traveling, Midoriya grinned down at the prince from his horse. "Was the carriage not to your liking or was it the company?"

Todoroki sighed. "If I have to listen to Monoma complain about 'savages' and their rumored customs one more time, I might throw him out."

Midoriya laughed as he waved down a knight to bring over a beautiful white horse that only Todoroki was allowed to ride. "I don't think anyone would be upset with you if you did."

"Not to mention Yaoyozoru's constant hints about a betrothal between me and his daughter are threatening to drive me mad." Todoroki took the reins of the white horse, bringing a hand to softly caress it. Despite his tired and displeased tone, a faint smile cross his face as he mumbled something for only his horse to hear. It was an unexpectedly soft gesture that took Uraraka by surprise. Maybe she shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but she was only a meter away.

"You're quite popular," Midoriya teased.

With practiced easy, Todoroki pulled himself up onto his horse and swung his leg over. He looked like a natural, like he'd been born to ride, but then, many highborns were like that. Commoners didn't get the chance to ride horses as often unless they worked with them. Uraraka liked riding horses, but she didn't want some of the lowerborn knights and members of their company to think that she thought herself better than them. Still, she had been admiring Todoroki's horse earlier. He was one of her favorites at the royal stables.

"It's not me me that's popular. It's the crown." There was no bitterness in Todoroki's voice, but there wasn't any happiness either. Unlike Uraraka, who was stuck somewhere in between, the prince knew his place. He had his restraints as well. Instead of looking upset or disappointed by it, he'd accepted his role. "And that's what will be behind any motivation of my father's choosing for the future queen. As if I have any choice in the matter. He should be talking with the king, not me. It's just bothersome."

Though she had never felt any sort of pity for him before, Uraraka thought that rather sad. He was wealthy beyond any imaginable means and would rule this country one day, but there were some things that he would never be able to have. Something as simple as love was not to be in his future. Even if Uraraka found it difficult to form some connections because of her magic, she would at least have a choice. So far, she'd chosen to not consider it at all, focusing on her magic and building her strength, but it wouldn't have to always be that way.

They continued the rest of the day in relative silence. The guards talked amongst each other while the tradesmen stuck with one another. Midoriya often acted as a go between for all of them, weaving his horse through the group to speak with Iida for updates and then back to where Todoroki rode in silence.

The prince was still aloof as ever, but for the first time, Uraraka noticed something different about him. He was at ease. She'd never realized how tense he was before, but now she saw just how uncomfortable he'd been every time she saw him at court. Out here, he was much more at ease, his body relaxed and his expression one of passive content. He had probably never been far from the castle either now that she thought about it. This trip must have been a chance for him to escape the confines of his royal blood on some level.

As the sun began to set, Iida decided that they would stop and make camp. It was at least a three days journey to the border if nothing came up to stop them or so she'd been told by a knight named Jirou. It was rare for women to be knights, but she had lived on the border of the country and was more familiar with the barbarian tribe than most people. Where she had grown up, fighting had been much more common and it hadn't mattered what gender you were. A woman could still die by the sword or flame.

Unlike the other highborn members of their group, Prince Todoroki was active in helping set up base camp. He did simple things such as help other pitch their tents before insisting on helping with his own. Naturally, it was larger than the rest and more elaborate as well. She caught a few members of their group gazing at it enviously, but no one said anything. Very few spoke out against the Todoroki family. The king was feared and respected and, despite his harsh rule at times, he was mostly a just king. Uraraka simply didn't like him, but even she kept her mouth shut.

She was in the process of setting up her own tent when a voice from behind asked her, "Do you require any assistance, my lady?"

Ready to brush off another attempt from one of the knights to engage her, Uraraka huffed and said, "I'm not some hapless maidan." However, when she turned around, she found herself standing face-to-face with the prince and her face burned a furious pink. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know-" Speaking so brusquely to one of royal blood was a punishable offense. She often spoke sharply to highborns, seeing as how they meant very little to her when put up against her magic, but not to someone like him. "I apologize, Your Grace."

Todoroki, on the other hand, didn't seem phased by her behavior in the slightest. "There's no need to be so formal around me." That was easy for him to say. He was the bloody crowned prince of the whole kingdom. "I don't think that you're hapless. I merely want to make sure I pull my weight around camp."

"I'm fine, really!" Uraraka insisted. With a simple swirl of her left hand, the tent seemingly pitched itself up with the help of invisible hands. She'd learned to do that a few years ago. Even the simplest magic helped build her strength, so she had to continually use it for even trivial things.

Todoroki's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He was very good at hiding how he felt. "You're the court mage."

"I wouldn't say that I'm a mage. That sounds so fancy." Uraraka held her staff closer to her. "I'm more like a witch, if I'm being honest."

"I was told that you were a part of my guard," Todoroki said in such a serious tone. "You were walking nearby the whole time and I didn't even acknowledge you. I apologize for my rudeness."

A nervous laugh tumbled out of Uraraka's lips. She was talking to the prince like it was normal. This was not normal. "It's not a big deal. I usually tend to keep to myself, even at the castle. I don't like drawing attention to myself much. It's...not always positive when I do."

"Because of your magic?"

Uraraka nodded her head. "Most people find it fascinating and admire it." She held out her hand and opened it palm up, a ball of light appearing in it as she did. With the sun close to falling down the horizon, the light provided them better vision and she watched the way it glowed in his eyes as he focused on it. "Others though…" The ball of light turned into a swirl of darkness that enveloped her hand and took it out of sight. "It's a curse, something to be feared. I'm considered little more than a weapon of the kingdom."

"Have you ever had to use your magic in battle before?" Todoroki's question was so straightforward that it took her aback. There hadn't been any fear in his eyes as he'd watched her use her magic. It had been more than curiosity as well. He had looked… Well, it was hard for her to tell what he'd looked like, but his face had been more open than she could ever remember him appearing.

"Once," Uraraka admitted. "When the neighboring kingdom sent someone to assassinate you."

Recognition lit up in Todoroki's eyes as he snapped them back up to hers. "You saved me then?" His gaze was almost too much for her, his mismatched eyes filled with intensity, to the point where she almost took a step back. She bit her lip, but nodded her head again. "Why was I not made aware of this?"

"Well, your father - the king, I mean - keeps me at the castle for such reasons, but he prefers for me to...not mingle much with the court." Uraraka shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I come from a very lowborn family, but was brought to the castle when my powers began to bloom. I suppose there's not much magic left in these lands, so I'm considered an important tool."

Todoroki stared at her. "You're not a tool." He spoke with such conviction that it nearly knocked the wind out of her chest, as if he had some sort of magic that could do that. Why was he being so nice to her? He was of royal blood. He would be king one day. She might have to fight to the death to protect him, but he didn't even need to acknowledge her presence. "You are an important member of the royal court and my personal guard and you should be treated as such with the proper respect."

Uraraka blushed again. "I'm used to it…"

"I've heard tale that your magic is extremely powerful," Todoroki continued, "though I've never seen it until now." He frowned. "I thought…" She found herself leaning in as he trailed off, a troubled look crossing his face. "I've seen you around the castle for years. I thought you were a serving girl of some sort. I never even knew…"

"Don't fret!" Uraraka said hastily. "That appearance was what the king thought was best. If I remained unassuming, I could serve my purpose better." She smiled. "Besides, who would believe that the kingdom's most treasured weapon and mage was a young girl?"

When Todoroki stepped forward and took one of her hands in both of his, Uraraka nearly jumped out of her shoes. She might have accidentally zapped them both with a bit of magic, but he didn't blink. "That's unacceptable. You shouldn't be hidden in the dark. If you're a sign of power, then you should be allowed to show your face to the world."

She didn't know what to say. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she was even capable of words right now. She was beginning to understand why he had such a polarizing effect on many of the highborn girls at court. Not that it meant anything! Uraraka managed to put on a weak smile and say, "Thank you," if only because there was no way she could get anything else out. Her magic felt like it was burning through her veins and it was all she could do to contain it. Sometimes, her emotions made it go haywire, especially when she was nervous.

"You should eat with us tonight," Todoroki told her.

That sounded...terrible. She could only imagine eating at a hastily made dining area in the main tent that was serving as a base of sorts with all the other highborns, many of whom sneered at her. Ugh, especially Lord Monoma. He was young like that, but had taken over as the head of his family after his father's hunting accident. He was one of her main tormentors. She'd love to turn him into a toad, but alas, it would only end badly for her.

"I usually have my meals with Midoriya and Iida," Todoroki continued before she could answer. "The others are…"

"Grating on the nerves?" Uraraka offered.

A ghost of a smile crossed Todoroki's face. "I was going to say 'difficult', but Midoriya would say that was more appropriate."

She did get on well with Midoriya and she liked Iida. Both of them were serious about their positions and jobs to protect the prince, but they could be light-hearted and they had always been friendly to her. It would be nice to have a meal with them and be treated as closer to an equal. She was still wary, of course, mostly because the prince would be there, but she had a strange feeling that he was thinking the same thing. Yes, he was above them all, but there would be times when not being treated as such came as a relief.

This journey was a way to feel that for the both of them apparently.

"So, will you join us tonight?" Todoroki asked.

"If you don't mind," Uraraka replied.

"I will have Midoriya find you when it's ready." Todoroki finally let go of her hand. Uraraka tried not to act like she hadn't been holding her breath the entire time. "There's still work to do around camp and I should see to the others." They could hear someone yelling. It sounded like one of the highborns was displeased about the rate their tent was being set up. Todoroki sighed. "A prince's duty never ends."

It was very close to a joke and Uraraka bit back a smile. She gave a small bow, which he returned, and then he gave her his leave, taking off the in the direction of the shouting. As soon as he was out of her sight, Uraraka ducked into her tent and put her face in her hands. She'd talked to the prince! He'd grabbed her hand! He'd invited her to dine with Midoriya and Captain Iida! What was going on? This was definitely going to be an interesting journey.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** If this feels like a filler chapter...it's because it kind of is. But at the same time not. I was not supposed to be writing for this fic and I'm actually buzzed, but, you know, when you wanna write, you gotta write.

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Dinner was a lot nicer than what she had planned on earlier in the day. To be honest, it was nicer than the ones she'd had at the castle. Of course it wasn't as lavish as the meals were there, seeing as how they were on the road and didn't have a fancy chef, but Prince Todoroki made no complaints. The other highborns could be heard complaining in their tent, but it had made little sense to bring a chef on the road. It was best to travel with as little people as possible. Captain Iida had complained over dinner that there were too many people in the company.

"That was delicious!" Uraraka exclaimed, sitting back contently on her cushion. Instead of bringing a table and chair with him, the prince had opted for a large ornate mat and cushions for them to sit on. They were nicer than most of the chairs she'd used, so she wasn't about to complain. Even though it was clear that he had gone for minimalism on the trip, everything he brought was more lavish than everything she owned combined. It couldn't really be helped, seeing as how he only owned lavish things.

"Are you content?" Todoroki asked.

Uraraka grinned sheepishly. "Oh yes. Perhaps too much."

He had said to help herself. At first, she had been hesitant to eat anything - because it was the prince's food and this wasn't her place - but then Midoriya had tucked in with enthusiasm and insisted that she try certain food. After all, she had spiraled and ate way too much. A part of her felt guilty. Surely the rest of the company wasn't eating nearly as well tonight as they were. She shouldn't put herself higher than them. After all, mage or not, what was she to these people?

"Excellent," Todoroki said decisively before he started to gather their empty plates.

That was one step too far for Uraraka. "You don't have to do that, Your Grace!" Despite her very full stomach, she rocked forward onto her knees and took the plates from him. He blinked at her and she flushed under his gaze. Why did it have to be so intense about everything? "It's just that…"

"I don't mind," Todoroki told her. "I like to do things on my own before…" He sighed and cast a look towards the tent flap. "Before servants come. I know it's their job, but it makes me feel like I'm...invalid."

His words took Uraraka aback once again. She had spent years coming up with all sorts of ideas about how the crowned prince was and he had not fit one of them. Even his politeness didn't match. He was as polished as she had expected and surely a little uppity despite his attempts to be otherwise, but without the sneers and callous attitude that she had pictured.

"You're not invalid," Uraraka told him gently. "You're royal."

He stared back at her for a moment, but then returned to his cushion. For some reason, Uraraka felt relieved. His kindness was throwing her off. She had expected certain things and he was not meeting precisely none of them. Besides Midoriya, Iida, and a handful of others, Uraraka was not used to kindness being handed to her so freely or genuinely. She knew that sometimes people were nice to her because they were afraid of her or sometimes because they pitied her. Neither of those things were the source of Todoroki's acts of kindness.

In an attempt to make the air less awkward in the tent, Uraraka set the plates back down and stood up, pushing her sleeves up her arms. "Besides, watch this!" Closing her eyes and concentrating, she waved her hands around each other in a slow dance, like she was sliding them through water, and then abruptly clapped them together. The dishes in front of them rose into the air, dumping food onto one plate, while the rest piled up in a neat stack near the flap of the tent. She stood before them proudly with her hands on her hips. "See? All done."

Midoriya jumped to his feet and clapped his hands. "That was incredible!"

"It was really nothing," Uraraka admitted. She'd learned simple home magic like that years ago. It was battle magic that was difficult. And then there was dark magic… Home magic was persnickety, but easy to learn. It wasn't all that impressive, so she knew that Midoriya was going out of his way to be kind this time.

"I appreciate it nonetheless," Todoroki said, giving her a slight bow that had her bowing even lower. He couldn't just do things like that! It was unheard of for royals. "I'll find a servant to take the dishes or they'll have a fit and tell on themselves to my father when we get back." He seemed so sad that it made Uraraka hesitate and then frown. "I'll watch you back to your tent when I return."

Uraraka gave him a smile. "You don't have to-" Oh, she was repeating herself. Why did she keep doing that with him? Maybe if he wasn't so difficult for a royal, it wouldn't be so bad. "It's not a big deal. I can take care of myself. I don't think anyone in this camp will mess with me."

"I know," Todoroki replied coolly, "but I insist."

To be honest, Uraraka didn't know what else to do. He was so straightforward and open that all Uraraka could do was nod her head. That pleased him a little at least. She watched as he slipped out of the tent, feeling adrift as everything she had known and pictured was being proved wrong. She had expected the prince to be just as snotty as his father and not want anything to do with her, but it was like he was going out of his way to act as differently from his father as possible.

With the prince out of the tent, a silent enveloped them until Midoriya prompted, "If you're uncomfortable, he won't walk you to your tent."

Uraraka turned back to him. "Pardon me?"

Midoriya smiled, probably at her slip at being proper. She'd mostly fallen back into the act that she put on inside the castle while around them. He knew it was false though. Out of the three boys, he had seen her for who she was the most out of all of them. Todoroki hadn't even known her real identity and Iida was so strict about rules that he was proper all the time.

"He feels ashamed," Midoriya continued.

"Why?" That made no sense. He was the heir apparent. Royals didn't feel shame. Everything they did was not only sanctioned but considered appropriate.

"For the way the king has treated you," Midoriya pointed out.

The prince must have confided in and trusted him more than Uraraka had realized. Either that or he was very observant. Except that even Iida was nodding his head in agreement. Had Todoroki spoken with them after he had talked to her outside her tent? He hadn't known about her saving him from that last assassination attempt, something both of them were very aware of. It made sense that Todoroki would go to them if he had questions.

"It makes no difference," Uraraka replied dismissively. She tugged at the sleeves of her outfit. It was so raggedy compared to what they were wearing. If given the ability to dress higher than her given station, she wouldn't do it. She had come from lowborn parents. She would not deny them their parentage. Besides, the king didn't like her dressing as more than that. It was too obvious that she was something then. "It has always been like that."

"But it doesn't have to be," Midoriya said.

When Uraraka furrowed her brow in confusion, Iia added, "He wants to be a different king than his father and it starts with the way he treats his people."

"If you want things to stay the same, he'll honor your wishes," Midoriya told her. He slowly stood up and brushed himself off. Unassuming as he looked, a lot of the other highborns mocked him behind his back. She knew that he knew of it. Sometimes it bothered him, but more often than not, he ignored it. She knew that he had not originally come from a highborn family and he was not technically part of the prince's or the castle guard, but he had made a name of himself regardless. Out of everyone, he understood her the best. "If you want to be treated differently, however, give him a chance."

"Is that what you did?" Uraraka asked.

"I gave him an opportunity," Midoriya told her, as if that made any sense. It must have been something specifically between him and Todoroki. It gave her a sense of peace though. Todoroki was clearly going out of his way to be kind to and do things for her. If he truly wanted to do that, she should let him. She should give him a chance to do right by her when his father had only used her.

Truth be told, it scared her - it was so unknown - but if she had learned anything about magic in her time studying it, then it was to believe in her heart. And in her heart, she believed that Prince Todoroki was good. Even good people could do bad things though. She'd learned that as well.

Todoroki returned seconds later, looking more tired than before. A servant hustled in after him, looking frazzled and even more distressed when they saw the plates and glasses already neatly stacked. She tried to give them a comforting look, seeing as how she recognized him from her time spent in the kitchen, but he just looked even more alarmed by her unusual presence and rushed out. It put her out. Did he believe she thought herself in a higher station than she was?

"Did you want to stay or…?" Todoroki glanced at Midoriya and Iida, both of whom shrugged.

"No, I'd…" Uraraka sighed. What had Midoriya said? Give him a chance? Todoroki felt ashamed? She knew what it was like to feel shame - to feel the need to fix things, make up for it, do everything possible to erase it - even when she had no reason to feel it. "I'd like to return to my tent. We have an early morning, do we not?"

The prince nodded. "If we wish to reach the borderlands in three more days, yes we do."

"We should discuss the security perimeters more tomorrow," Iida told her, almost making it sound as if that was what they had been talking about instead of the prince himself. He wasn't that sneaky though. Midoriya might have done it, but that was more her tactic. In all fairness, it was just something that the Captain wanted to discuss and so she nodded her head. "If you're casting defensive spells around the company, it would be best for us to know what exactly they are so that no one acts out against them."

"Of course!" Uraraka replied, suddenly feeling very embarrassed over the fact that she had most definitely been casting defensive spells and hadn't told anyone. They wouldn't react against anyone in their company, but she supposed that the knights might react poorly should attackers be maimed abruptly in front of them by one of her defensive spells. She hadn't considered that.

When Todoroki held out her arm, Uraraka looked at it for a beat, confused, before she realized that she was supposed to take it. She'd seen highborn ladies do it a lot in court. With her cheeks burning red, she slipped her arm through his. After casting a somewhat helpless expression at Midoriya and Iida, who respectively gave her a thumbs up and a serious nod in return, she walked out of the tent with Todoroki.

"I know I've said this before," Uraraka murmured, her face burning as members of the company stared at them in confusion and thinly veiled aggravation, "but you don't have to do this."

"How long have you been in my father's service?" Todoroki asked as they walked together, his gaze ahead.

Uraraka pressed her finger to her lips as she counted. "At least nine years."

"Nine years," Todoroki repeated in a hollow voice. She felt him sag, if only because his arm was holding hers, and she naturally leaned into him to give him comfort. "I should've known. I should've paid more attention. I saw you and I thought nothing of it. All this time and I ignored you."

With her free hand, she reached over herself to touch his arm. "You didn't know."

"That's not an excuse," Todoroki countered. "I should have known. You've lived in the castle for nine years and I thought you a mere servant girl. My father should've never treated you like that."

Uraraka stopped him, coming to a halt and forcing him to do the same. He turned to face her and she took her arm out of his. That was one thing that could be said of the prince. Anyone else would've turned away from her in shame, but he seemed to face all his problems head on. The same could be said of her. She should've paid him more attention. If she had, she wouldn't be so caught off guard by his behavior and personality now.

"When the time comes, if you wish to treat your subjects differently, you can," Uraraka told him firmly. "Until then, I will accept my place."

"As the court mage and one who has already protected me from an assassin once," Todoroki countered just as strongly, "if you truly wish to serve the crown to your highest level, your place should be at my side."

Out of all the things that Uraraka had been anticipating, that had not been one of them. She felt as if she had been dealt a physical blow. Those were the words of a prince, but they weren't cruel either. They were authoritative in a way that sent a chill down her spine, but didn't have her turning away from him either. He truly was ashamed of his father's treatment of her, as Midoriya had said, and wanted to rectify it.

Todoroki sighed and took her hands in his, holding both of their hands palm up. Out of instinct, she called up an orb of light into her palms. The sun had set, but the light shined for them alone, casting an eerie glow on their features as they both stared down at it. Holding onto magic comforted her and she felt Todoroki relax more than saw him. It put him at ease.

"There is little magic in our kingdom in these hard times," Todoroki said. "It does us little good to hide what magic and beauty we have left."

Uraraka blushed for the second time that night and raised her eyes to his mismatched ones, connecting with his and freezing.. Her throat constricted, leaving her incapable of saying anything in response. He closed her hands, curling her fingers, and the magic light went out, putting them in darkness. When he pulled his hands away from hers, she was left with a sense of coldness, but she embraced it. She couldn't keep basking in the warmth that Todoroki created. He was the crowned prince, after all.

She should not accept little more than a walk back to her tent from someone like this.

(So why did she feel like he could offer her more?)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes:** One more quiet chapter before shit gets real. I just really like learning more about Uraraka's past.

* * *

It wasn't like she sought out the prince's company or anything. He preferred to spend their travels outside of the carriage. The other nobles were well-mannered and mostly of good nature, but he liked to see where he was going and speak with the more involved members of their trek. Uraraka got the sense that he wasn't allowed to do that very often. He was stilted with many of them or at least quiet, which left the knights and other lowborn members of their company to flounder. It put him in a down mood, but he pushed through it.

She knew that it wasn't entirely his fault. Seeing as how the king had thought it fit to keep her away from the higher born members of the court, she had a feeling that he had done the same for the crowned prince. Besides Midoriya and Captain Iida, he came off as unapproachable to everybody else. Even to Uraraka, who had spent more time with him in the past week than she had the many years she'd lived at the castle combined. It was just who he was. A product of his upbringing.

He didn't want to be that though. He didn't want to be removed from his people, the way his father was. In his own words the other night, " _How am I to rule my kingdom if I don't know or even understand the people that make it?"_

She'd lied on her mat in her tent thinking of that and then reprimanded herself for being so foolish and letting herself get worked up over it. Prince Todoroki was just that: a prince. He would never truly be able to connect with the people that he ruled. That was the point of being a royalty. They were a step above the rest. Todoroki could try all he wanted, but he would never fully be able to grasp what life was like for a stableboy, a merchant, a knight, or a farmer. He'd never know what it felt like to have the world at his fingertips, only to have to it smacked away because he was too poor, too weak, a woman, a child.

(A witch.)

More often than not, sometime during the day, Uraraka would find herself in the prince's company. Upon the realization that she would not ride a horse, Todoroki had dropped from his own with that same effortless grace that she'd witnessed from him the first day and began to walk with her. It had left every knight around her gawking and her blushing, not that he had paid attention. She wasn't even sure if he had noticed. Comments about it being a long walk had not deterred him.

It hadn't been until the third day of this happening when Midoriya came to her tent asking for blistering remedies that Uraraka realized something was wrong. The young knight had chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, and said, "He's more stubborn than he lets on."

"Stubbornness is not symbiotic with idiocy," Uraraka pointed out as she ground of the essentials necessary. The prince would have to ride a horse tomorrow if he wanted to heal. What a fool.

"He doesn't want you to think poorly of him," Midoriya told her.

That caused Uraraka to halt. "What?" Good thing she hadn't been toiling over a cauldron or she might've jerked the spoon the wrong way and caused it to explode. Potions were so fickle.

"Either that or he's trying to impress you," Midoriya continued.

Uraraka blushed. "That's absurd."

"At any rate, he's ashamed over the way the king has treated you thus far and wants to make up for it."

"That's even more ridiculous." Uraraka couldn't have helped the softness in her voice had she tried. Besides the small acts of kindness that she had come to expect from Midoriya and the genuine if not a bit intense concern that radiated from Iida, it had been a long time since someone had gone so far out of their way to be good to her. Nice even. Todoroki seemed unsure of how to extend that to her, but he was doing what he could. "He's not at fault. It was the king's ruling, not his."

Midoriya tsked and shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. A future king must shoulder the weight of not only his kingdom and his rule, but also his father's as well. He'll wear that mantle one day."

For some reason, the words made Uraraka's stomach sour. Todoroki would be the king one day. Instead of passing the crown onto his oldest son or daughter, he had chosen his youngest. No one knew why, but they knew better than to ask. Uraraka had heard all of the gossip, of course, but most were baseless and petty rumors. There had even been talk that the reason Midoriya had risen so high in rank so fast was because he actually had ties to the crown before the current king's rule, but he'd never given it any ground.

"Thanks!" Midoriya said after she handed him the ointments. "We'd be lost without you."

"I'm sure you'd manage to find your way," Uraraka replied dryly.

Midoriya winked. "But then who would bring a smile to our beloved prince's face? Certainly not I or Iida. We're not quite as fair, forthright, or insightful."

Uraraka almost chucked her mortar and pestle at him, but he ducked out of her tent at the last second and she didn't want to waste a piece of her equipment on him. Curse him for having such a clever mind. He was usually good about not teasing her, but sometimes, when he was in high spirits, it would slip from him. Maybe he'd had a pint before coming to see her. That loosened his tongue. He had a low tolerance, but then the stuff that she brewed here and there was also particularly strong.

The next day, Prince Todoroki was on his horse, appearing somewhat put out. A few hours into the day though, she found herself in the same predicament. It truly wasn't an attempt to appease him, but when they had to pass through a canyon, which separated their kingdom from the borderlands, Iida had insisted that she ride a horse. Being asked to do something (because she was never _told_ , exactly, although she rarely had an actual choice) "for her own safety" had actually made her laugh, but then the captain had been serious.

Traveling through the canyon put them at a disadvantage, forcing them into a thin line and stretching out their guard. Uraraka would've preferred to be either in the back or front, as she could do the most protecting or defending as a whole in those positions, but the safety of the prince and the other higher borns were considered first, not to mention the merchants, tradesmen, and servants that knew little to nothing about fighting. They would be helpless if they were attacked. This would be the perfect place for it to happen, having put the caravan in a chokehold. They went as fast as the terrain allowed them, but it was slow going.

"You ride well, my lady," Todoroki noted as he moved his horse next to hers.

Uraraka blushed a little and covered it up by leaning over to stroke her horse's neck. "I spent a lot of time in the royal stables growing up. They let me help with washing and feeding the horses. At night, they'd let me ride some of them to help me get acquainted should the need ever arise."

"Hm, a mage on horseback would be quicker and more agile than on foot," Todoroki concurred.

That...was something she hadn't considered when she had decided to walk instead of ride a horse. She had been worried about offending others or making people think that she thought highly of herself when she should have looked at it from a tactical approach. That was what differed the two of them. Todoroki had been brought up to examine things from a military aspect, not just a social one. He would have to lead the kingdom's army. She had no doubt that the sword on his hip was more than just for decoration. The king was not a soft person. He would not let his children be any different, even if Todoroki did seem kinder.

"How long have you lived at the castle?" Todoroki asked curiously.

Uraraka didn't need to think to know how long it had been. She'd never truly stopped counting the days since she'd been taken from her village. "Twelve years."

Her answer caught Todoroki off guard and he almost halted his horse. "Twelve years?" He reigned in his open expression to something more manageable. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," Uraraka told him. She knew that he was the same age as her, younger than her by two weeks. The celebrations for his birthday were a grand affair, much more so than his siblings'. She was usually given a extra coin to spend on hers, which she almost always splurged on food, especially sweets. Now that she was older, she would have to be more practical about it, but she couldn't help herself sometimes.

"You were taken from your parents when you were six," Todoroki said, his voice somewhat hollow. "Have you been allowed to visit them?" Uraraka shook her head. "You must miss them terribly."

Her gaze dropped to her horse. She knew what was expected of her, but it had been a long time ago. Of course she missed them, but it was hard to miss something she didn't know. "To be honest, I can barely remember them. With each day that passes, my memory of them fades a little more. I know more about the castle and the people in it than I do my family and village."

Todoroki watched her carefully. "Would you like to go back to visit?"

Ah, he had found the weak link in her armor. He was strangely observant for a member of royalty. Uraraka's grip on her reins tightened. "I...I don't know. I think I'm scared of what I might find if I do - or if I'd even be welcomed or remembered. So much as changed. I can't even be sure if they're still alive." She bit her lip, humiliation flooding her. Her parents had loved her - she was sure of it - but then they hadn't put up much of a fight to keep her either when the king's men had pounded on their door. "I think my magic scared them. It started out small, little things that could be ignored or laughed at, praised even. When it started to grow out of my control though…"

"You were young," Todoroki said. "It couldn't be helped."

"I fear sometimes that they were relieved to send me away," Uraraka replied, still not looking at him. "It was for the best. I didn't like it for the longest time, but only because I didn't understand my place. I howled, cried, kicked, fought - all things a child with an abundance of magic should not do. I came to learn in time though."

She still may not have liked her place, stuck under the boot of a king who treated her as little more than a weapon. He'd done a good job at putting her in her place. In the back of her mind, she knew that was she was stronger than him, but she could never be a leader like him either. She couldn't even be one like Todoroki, Iida, or Midoriya. Her place would always be below them, as support, as a follower. That was what magic did. The mere idea of trying to oppose the king or his rules made Uraraka balk. It had been ingrained in her, albeit with difficulty, to follow as the rest of the subjects did. She didn't have to like it to listen.

"When we return, I don't want you hidden away in the shadows," Todoroki told her. "It's not right."

Uraraka's heart skipped a beat at the prospect of more freedom, but a shadow fell over her face. "But the king-"

"I can handle my father," Todoroki interrupted, not unkindly. "If you're going to be a show of power for our kingdom, it's counteractive to hide you in the dark." He turned his face away from her to look at the sun, which was beginning its descent and casting a deep orange glow over them. "You should be seen - for who you are. I'd prefer you beside me than beneath me."

It felt like there was more to his words than he said out loud, but she couldn't be sure. She was good at reading people and understanding them, but the prince was hard to figure out. He was surprising. There were so many little things about him that he kept locked and out of sight, just like her. She couldn't help but feel the desire to pick those locks and find out what was inside, but even that made her wary. She shouldn't overstep her place, even if he was opening doors for her. He was the prince. She had to let him lead and she would follow.

Which was partly why it was so frustrating that he seemed to easily peel away the layers that she had built up over the years. She'd built stone walls around her heart and mind so that no one could tear them down. She had ensured that no one would ever hurt her. Her first few years living at the castle had been rough. She'd been a child. She had been weak and scared and angry. The former two were gone, burned out of her years ago, but her anger had hardened into something impossible to scale.

Todoroki was doing a remarkable job in proving her wrong in many different ways. She had expected someone like Midoriya to break through or find a way inside, but instead, it was a prince. That made her very wary indeed. She didn't trust nobles and certainly not royalty - they always had ulterior motives - yet she found her heart warming to him anyways. It was more dangerous than magic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:** So there was supposed to be action in this chapter, but then I got to talking about this AU with **Safri** (on Twitter, CHECK HER AMAZING ART), aka noizus-blog on tumblr, and she came up with this idea that was actually perfect and will make the next chapter even more poignant, so kudos to her. She's amazing.

* * *

They were in the middle of the canyon, struggling through a sudden heat wave, when the issues began.

The first problem was the threat of the knights overheating. The company was at its most vulnerable here, but the heat made their armor equally dangerous. Uraraka did what she could with cooling spells, but with a lack of water in the air, she couldn't do much that would cover the entire group. Most of them had decided to take off all the unessential pieces to their armor, but that meant that they were more exposed should they be attacked. Iida had held off for the longest, but in the end, even he had succumbed to it.

Many of the others remained uncomfortable. Everyone was hot and sweaty. It had been nearing summer in their kingdom, but it was usually little more than unpleasant a few days of the seasons. They'd also had particularly mild summers. Uraraka had learned a technique a year ago that allowed her to regulate her temperature on an almost subconscious level. It surprisingly didn't take a lot of energy or effort once she figured it out. She'd read that even people without magic could learn it, but so far, no one had been willing to try, too afraid that it might be a curse or it wouldn't work and they'd look foolish.

Out of everyone, besides her, Prince Todoroki looked the most unaffected. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that he had learned the same technique. It was possible that he had come close. Uraraka knew that she wasn't the only one with magic in their kingdom, although she was the known strongest. Some people had bits and pieces of it, sometimes without even knowing.

It was very possible that the prince had some minor or dormant magic in him. At one point in their history, all those with royal blood possessed magical skills, but as time had passed, the magic had thinned out and seemingly spread across the land. Some people said that as the kingdom grew, the royals' magic became to stretched thin across the land to protect the people until none of them had any magic left in them. Others said that their magic had been taken away from them as punishment because of their greed or because they had used it to conquer.

Whatever the case was, while Todoroki was handling the sudden heat spell well, the rest of his highborn travellers were not and, seeing as how the only one that could give any sort of relief was her, she was at their mercy.

They were a day behind schedule and Iida did not want to stop, especially in the canyon and so close to the border, but the unnatural heat was taking its toll on everyone. As the sun set, granting them some small mercy, they set up camp. Everyone was sluggish after a day's worth of marching. They'd expected to be in the borderlands by now, but this had slowed them down. It wasn't normal. Uraraka thought it might have something to do with them being so close to the border. The air felt different. It was tinged with something...familiar.

It almost felt like magic, but a wild kind, as if it grew here like untamed weeds in a garden.

Uraraka had walked the perimeter of their camp with Iida to cast extra defensive spells over the area, explaining each one to him as she did so. By the time she finished, she was ready to curl up on her sack in her tent and sleep. She had to make sure to eat first though to keep up her strength. Defensive spells didn't require as much energy as offensive ones, but she would be holding them for longer. It bled her slowly instead of all at once.

Before she could do anything though, one of the highborns stomped out of the carriage, sending many of the closeby servants scurrying in hopes to avoid being called on. "Where is she?" he demanded. Uraraka knew who he was talking about, but pretended not to hear, if only to avoid dealing with him for a few more seconds. "Where is the witch?"

Sighing to herself, Uraraka abandoned her freshly made tent and walked over to the carriage. "You called for me, Lord Monoma?"

The young blonde-haired lord sneered at her, but the sweat shining on his face weakened the effect, especially when faced with the fact that Uraraka looked so cool. "Our tent should've been set up an hour ago. We're behind schedule. If the servants are so useless, then what are you doing?"

"Apologies, my lord," Uraraka replied, automatically bowing. "I was setting up defensive spells over the camp."

"Excuses," Monoma spat. "Do your job."

"Of course."

Uraraka could feel her strength fading with every moment that she didn't tend to her body's needs, but she was used to this treatment. She walked over to where the highborns' tents were being set up. Though larger than everyone else's, they didn't compare to the prince's, although she had found out that Midoriya and Iida slept there as well. The servants wrestling with the tents on top of their exhaustion from walking in the heat eyed her warily and she gave them sympathetic gazes, waving them away with her hands and an understanding nod. They stepped aside, leaving their work undone, as she held out her staff and lifted her arms.

Like some sort of coordinated dance, the tents raised in the air and began to pitch themselves. It was easy work on her simple tent, but these were much more elaborate. Still, considering what she was capable of, using her magic to pitch tents was somewhat humiliating. She could summon fire, siphon water from a river, turn wind into a tornado - and here she was acting as a snotty brat's lapdog.

When she was finished, Uraraka dropped her arms and took a deep breath as sweat ran down the side of her face. The work had broken her concentration and now she felt the heat attacking her. She had to take a few more breaths before she was able to make herself comfortable again.

However, the second she did, she heard Monoma scoff, "Is that the best you can do? My tent looks as if it might fall at any second."

The smile on Uraraka's face was strained as she said, "I can assure you it won't."

But Monoma shook his head. "Do it again."

Uraraka bit her tongue and nodded her head, turning back to his tent. She brought it back down and then set it up again, this time going slower so that she could pay attention to every detail. Once it was done, it looked identical to the way she'd pitched it before, but Monoma accepted it this time with a mildly disdainful look and strode into it. Their tents were large enough to stand and walk around in, though not a lot or nearly enough as Todoroki's. Compared to hers though, it was a manor.

"Oh, by the way, witch," Monoma called out. She turned back to face him, willing her face to be neutral, even though she knew his comment would be bad judging by the smirk on his face. "I'd wash yourself if I were you or we're like to confuse you with the barbarians."

Luckily, Uraraka was used to this kind of treatment, especially from Monoma. He took particular glee in rubbing her status in her face. Technically, when Todoroki had told her that he had thought she was a servant girl, he had not been far off. Although she was primarily a tool for the crown, the king had told her to obey any orders given to her by members of the royal court that did not go against his. Most of them ignored her unless they really wanted something, but there were some highborns, like Monoma, that took it to the extreme. Once, he'd had her fetch him lemon cakes and float them in the air to him one by one.

"Lord Monoma," a voice cut in, sharper than any sword.

Immediately, both he and Uraraka straightened up as Prince Todoroki strode towards them. His tone was unlike anything she'd heard from him so far. With two words, he had chilled the air around them. Though his face remained impassive, his mismatched eyes flashed dangerously. She saw Monoma's eyes drop to the sword at the prince's hip and then back to his face. He wouldn't use it, but he didn't have to. As the crowned prince, out here, his word was law in their company.

"What did you say to her?" Todoroki demanded once he was standing in front of him.

Monoma shriveled. "It was a jest, Your Grace."

"A jest, you say," Todoroki replied slowly, as if chewing on the words. He turned to look back at Uraraka, his gaze softened if only a little. Tension was written in the lines of his body. He was more than displeased; he was angry. This whole time, she'd only seen him be mild, kind, or thoughtful. He worked hard and pushed himself harder, but he made sure that he didn't look it. Now though, he was clearly holding himself back. "Did you find it funny?"

"I…" Uraraka's eyes flickered from Todoroki to Monoma, who was glaring at her with the prince's back to him, and then back. She couldn't lie to him, but she couldn't tell the truth either. No doubt Monoma would go out of his way to make her life hell if she said anything against him. "It was nothing."

That was more or less the truth. It was nothing - at least nothing she wasn't used to already. She'd had worse said to and about her before. She had thick skin.

Unfortunately, she had a feeling that Todoroki knew that, judging from the set of his jaw as he turned back to Monoma, who wiped his face clean. "Well I didn't think it amusing at all." He pointed to her. "Apologize."

"Excuse me?" Monoma's eyes almost bugged out and even Uraraka coughed in surprise. "Your Grace this is… She's just…"

"She's just what?" Todoroki stared him down. "Uraraka is not only a valuable member of our company, but of the court as well. As the court mage, she has more power than you can ever hope to hold." Monoma opened his mouth and closed it like a fish out of water. It would've been amusing had she not been involved. She'd learned to get used to Todoroki's words to her, but to hear him say them to another highborn outside of Midoriya and Iida… "You will treat her with the respect she deserves. No more pointlessly ordering her around, no more insults, no more cruel treatment - or there will be consequences."

Though unhappy and in shock over what he'd been ordered to do, Monoma swallowed. The sweat on his face had nothing to do with the heat. "Yes, Your Grace."

"Now," Todoroki said, sounding calmer, "apologize."

In a jerky manner, Monoma turned to face her, his face twisted into a pained expression, but he bowed to her and ground out, "My apologies for insulting you."

Uraraka raised her eyebrows. He glanced up at her, having not stood up yet, and then she remembered that she had to accept it before he could move. Those with highborn blood sometimes lived their lives with such rigid rules. Certain manners had to be observed. She waved a hand at him and he straightened up and then rushed into his tent.

Todoroki sighed and glanced at her. "Are you alright?"

"You didn't have to do that," Uraraka said, sounding like a parrot at this point.

"They shouldn't treat you like that," Todoroki replied, a tired frown on his face.

This time though, Uraraka shook her head. "You shouldn't have done that."

A look of confusion crossed the prince's face. Besides Midoriya here and there, she'd never had anyone stand up for her. She'd been insulted, looked down upon, and pushed around for as long as she could remember. It was annoying, but she could handle it. None of it got to her in the end. Maybe it made her hate people with wealth and power, but she could take care of herself. It never hurt her.

And now here was Todoroki, riding in like some prince in shining armor, coming to defend her. It humiliated her. It made her feel small and weak. She knew he hadn't meant for her to feel that way, but she did. After years of defending and protecting herself, she didn't know how to accept it from someone else, especially when Todoroki was going out of his way. It wasn't just a word of defense like Midoriya did. When Todoroki said something, it was law and this would spread to the other members of the court and then everyone else beneath them.

He'd inadvertently put her on a pedestal and she didn't know how to take it.

"I don't need you defending me every step of the way," Uraraka told him. "I've been taking care of myself just fine."

Todoroki blinked. "I know that, but-"

"I don't need you to save me," Uraraka interrupted, having built up too much steam. She knew that she should stop talking, but the words spilled out of her like a river. "I don't need your guilt hanging over me like a cloud. If all you're going to do is look at me with pity, then you're no better than everyone else."

It looked as if the breath was sucked right out of Todoroki's lungs as he stared at her. She snapped her mouth shut, suddenly very self-conscious of the fact that she'd actually raised her voice to the crowned prince. Oh no, this was bad. During the course of their traveling, even though it had been such a short period of time, she must've gotten too familiar with him. She'd never spoken like this with any of the highborns and yet here she was snapping and berating a member of the royal family.

Uraraka raised a shaky hand to her mouth. "I…"

Her lips trembled in fear behind her hand. Speaking out of turn to the prince like that was a crime worthy of imprisonment. She was horrified with her actions. If she'd ever said or done anything like this back at the castle, the king would've locked her up and only let her out when he needed her. Life wasn't so bad. She had her freedom at least. But now, after the way she'd spoken to Prince Todoroki, no matter what he'd said, it could all end. She knew that she should apologize - get on her hands and knees at his feet and beg - but she felt frozen by his mismatched gaze.

Unable to breath, Uraraka turned on her heels and rushed away as fast as she could, clutching her staff against her chest like it might protect her. As soon as she made it to her tent, she ducked inside and harshly flicked her hand, sealing the tent from the inside with magic. She was afraid that Midoriya might come calling or, even worse, Iida, who was in charge of handing out any punishments that Todoroki or the other highborns ordered. When the sun rose, she would be forced to deal with whatever was given to her, but for now, she could hide.

No one called on her though.

After thirty minutes of worrying and overthinking, she fell asleep, falling into a restless dream about dark caves, swords made of ice and fire, flying, and laughter ringing over explosions. When she woke up, the tent was near pitch black and she made a ball of light glow in her hands to illuminate the small space. She hadn't even finished setting up her own tent before Lord Monoma had demanded her assistance and had fallen asleep on her unrolled sleeping sack.

Unsealing her tent, Uraraka peeked outside and found that camp was going on as normal. There were campfires and men surrounding them. She could smell food, the remnants of dinner, but when she glanced down, she realized that it was a plate of food that had been placed outside her tent. Immediately she recognized it as food that had come from the royal stash. No one else outside of Todoroki and the other members of the court had access to food like this. She felt a slash of guilt, but her stomach rumbled and she snatched the plate before ducking back into the sanctuary of her tent.

However, when she went to dive into the food, she hesitated. Uraraka was unsure of who had brought it to her and she stared down at it in confusion.

Had it been the prince? Why would he do that though, especially after the way she'd spoken to him in public? She still needed to apologize for her unruly behavior and hope that she would scrape by without punishment. Todoroki had come off as soft in certain ways towards her, but he was his father's son in the end and she had a feeling that the prince could be as cold or fiery as his father if need be.

Perhaps it had been Midoriya. This had his handiwork written all over it. There had been times during royal feasts when he was inexplicably at the prince's side, eating along with the other members of the court as if he belonged. He knew how much Uraraka loved sweets and would often swipe a few to give to her afterwards since she was often denied them. A servant couldn't possibly eat the same foods as those of highborn blood. He'd appear in the kitchen with a grin on his face and a sweet roll in his hand, tossing one over to her as he winked. Him bringing her food when he'd know that she would rather hide and skip dinner than eat sounding like something he'd do.

It could've also been Iida, who would bring her food to eat so that she could keep up her strength. He had walked with her as she cast the defensive spells around the perimeter of their camp. She'd explained to him how the spells could drain her through the night. Even if he did have to serve her punishment come dawn, he would want her to be strong through the night. Already she felt weak and she could hear him berating her, so, despite her questions and reservations, she dug into the food.

Whoever had brought the food without disturbing her had been kind and thoughtful. Uraraka could only hope that she would still be given the same regard tomorrow. Her words towards the prince had been cruel. She'd meant them, but she didn't think that he had thought to make her feel that way on purpose. Maybe he did look at her with pity - and she didn't like it - but he didn't think she was weak. He'd told her on multiple occasions that she was strong. All he had wanted to do was help and she had snapped at him.

There was a high chance that she had ruined everything that had happened since leaving the castle. Despair fell over Uraraka. She could already feel herself mourning the loss of those tentative friendships. If they had to choose, Midoriya and Iida would choose the prince and for good reason and the prince… Todoroki would cast her aside, just as his father had. It shamed her to feel so sad over losing whatever had been built between them these past few days, but she did. She had no one else to blame but herself. Faced with that, the food tasted bland, but she forced it down anyways.

Uraraka wasn't allowed to be weak. She couldn't afford it. That came from allowing attachments get to her as well. She never should have let Todoroki get so close to her. It was a weakness. She was meant to protect him, not to become friends with him. She was a tool, a weapon, and that was that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes:** So...this chapter came about very randomly today when I had an idea about the plot. I'd planned for this to happen, but no real backstory as to why it did. That changed while I was daydreaming earlier this morning. This is a lot different from the other chapters. For one, it's almost entirely action.

* * *

It was a loud BOOM and then screams that woke her up, not the fact that her tent was on fire. Uraraka startled awake, tangled in her thin blanket, and then began to cough as the smoke invaded her lugs. The second she realized what was going on, she cast a spell to snuff the fire out, but that didn't take away the smoke from pervading the air. After hastily pulling on the rest of her outfit and her boots, she grabbed her hat and staff and practically tumbled out of her tent.

What met her was utter chaos.

Uraraka brought a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp of horror. The whole camp was a disaster, as if she'd woken up in some sort of hell. Soldiers were running around, most of them only in part of their armor and leaving them exposed. There were flaming arrows in the dirt, tents, and fallen people, some of them theirs and some in clothes she didn't recognize. Half the camp was on fire. The other half was fighting and struggling to escape.

That first massive explosion must have come from attackers hitting one of her barriers. She'd had more. How had they managed to get through? Did they have someone capable of magic as well? This had to be one of the rogue groups that was attacking caravans, but they were much stronger than any reports they'd received. The sound of metal swords clanging and scraping against one another rang in her ears, along with shouts and war chants and the cries of the horses frantically trying to escape the fire.

Her first thought was to help the people that couldn't defend themselves, but that wasn't her job here. An arrow of fear struck her in the heart.

The prince. Where was Prince Todoroki?

With panic gripping her, Uraraka bolted through the camp towards the prince's tent. There was too much fire for her to smother all at once as she had done on her tent, but there was water and air. As she ran she lifted her staff high in the air so that water was pulled out of pots and cauldrons throughout the camp and sprayed the fire down as much as it she could stretch it, and then she waved it in front of her in a sweeping arc, causing a powerful gust of wind. It knocked down two men charging her as well and she jumped over them to burst into the expansive tent.

"Prince Todoroki!" Uraraka called out. There was no one inside the tent though, only the signs of a struggle and a spatter of blood. Her heart leapt into her throat. Had she been too late?

As terrified as she was, she was furious too. When she shoved the tent flaps aside, she saw a man cut down on the soldiers and then he started for her, an ugly grin on his face. It was worse than the one Monoma wore when mocking her. This one was utterly savage. Four other men joined him, all advancing on her. She stood her ground and let them come to her.

"No one here to protect you, little lady?" the first man jeered.

"She's pretty, ain't she?" a second said. "We should keep her alive. Have a bit of fun with her."

Uraraka's face darkened. None of them noticed the air darkening around her as well, blotting out the rising sun behind her. "That is not going to happen."

"Oh, why's that?" he questioned with a laugh. "I don't see anyone here to save you."

"No one said that you'd be alive to have any fun," Uraraka snarled furiously. She wacked her staff on the ground three times. The ground began to rumble and then cracked in a zigzag towards them. Two of them were thrown to the side by the shaking ground while the other three were swallowed when the earth opened beneath them.

One of the men that had survived scrambled to his feet as she walked on the disrupted ground. "She's a witch!"

"I'm a mage!" Uraraka countered in a loud boom. "The most powerful in the kingdom!" Lightning began to crackle above the palm of her free hand. She rarely used this kind of magic, but she was so angry and upset. Where was the prince? Had she failed him already? These raiders were hurting her people. "And I will see to it that you all burn to the ground!"

Once those two were taken care of, Uraraka set out further into the camp, trying to find the prince, Midoriya, or Iida. There was so much going on though. She had to jump in to defend a few of the royal members of the court, but watched in shock as Lord Yaoyorozu's daughter, Lady Momo, picked up a fallen soldiers sword and swiped the head off of a raider attacking her father.

"Uraraka!"

She spun around and stood in shock as blood splattered on her when a sword went through a man who had been about to attack her from behind. She wasn't used to being in the middle of combat and kept getting distracted. She needed to focus, but there was so much going on, pulling at her attention. Tilting her head up, she watched as Midoriya pulled the sword out and the man's body crumpled at his horse's and her feet. There was blood on his face and his vest was torn, but otherwise, he looked uninjured.

"Where is he?" Uraraka demanded.

"Last I saw him, he was heading for the east part of the camp," Midoriya told her. He kept a tight hold of his horse's rein, but that didn't stop the animal from prancing nervously. "I tried to stop him, but he ran off and I lost track of him in the fight."

Uraraka nodded her head, but her face paled. That was where the servants and other such members of their camp stayed, the ones with the least to protect them. After all, the soldiers were meant to protect the highborns and the prince. What had he been thinking?

 _About his people,_ Uraraka thought, dizzy from the smoke and fighting. _He's thinking about his people._

"The heaviest attacks are at the north of the camp," Midoriya said, sounding pained. "They're taking a beating."

"You go," Uraraka replied quickly. "I'll protect him."

Midoriya stared down at her, concern in his eyes. She didn't know if it was for her or the prince. Instead of saying anything though, he nodded his head and then whipped the reins so that the horse charged forward. The fire was terrible where he was going, the battle thick. Already too many of their camp had suffered or died. Who knew if any of the highborns' lives had been claimed? Even if they managed to make it back to the capitol, if anything happened to the crowned prince, the king would have all of their heads.

Except for Uraraka. But she would never taste a hint of freedom again.

It was more than that fear of being chained forever that spurned Uraraka forward and had her calling out for the prince. Todoroki had promised her more freedom than she could ever imagine, but it wasn't being unshackled and never looked down upon again that she thought of as she searched for him. She thought of his earnest face, the way he'd held her hands as she'd called up an orb of light and it had glowed over his features, how he spoke to her so upfront and respected her opinion.

She thought of _him_ and the idea that he could be injured or dead terrified her.

"Prince Todoroki!" she called out again. People were fighting everywhere. She fought to spot a flash of his blue vest or his unmistakable mismatched hair, but she couldn't see anything that resembled him. Tears pricked at her eyes and it wasn't just from the fire. Coughing into her arm, she waved her staff again and forced the fires around her down with another heavy gust of wind.

"Oh, so you're the little mage I've heard stories about?" a voice drawled behind her.

Uraraka spun around only to catch fire shooting towards her. It wasn't normal fire though. It was blue. She raised up her staff, using wind to block it, but it wasn't enough. The fire struck her staff and exploded, throwing her backwards. Sparks flew and then some. She slammed into the ground and her vision went dark briefly, but she recovered quickly, a burst of wind lifted her back on her feet like she weighed nothing. Her head ached and her vision was blurry, but through the orange and blue flames, she saw a thin man pick up her staff.

"Who are you?" Uraraka demanded, feeling her skin crawl at someone else touching her staff. The man twirled it in his hands like it was little more than a stick, eyeing it with vague interest.

His eyes flickered to her and he smiled. "You don't recognize me?" She furrowed her brow. "It has been a while. I was an outcast there too. It's a shame we did not become more acquainted, but you were so young and I admittedly didn't think twice of you at the time."

There was something about him that was terrifying. Whether it was the burns that covered his skin, the strange tilted of his head, the slight grin on his face, or the way he held her staff in a tight grip, she couldn't be for certain, but she felt transfixed and unable to move. She'd had that staff for years, probably since it was bigger than her. No, she didn't need to necessarily to use her magic, but it made her stronger. It turned her fearsome. She felt bare without it and to have some terrible stranger holding something so deeply a part of her.

What really made her want to take a step back was how dead his bright blue eyes looked. They made her think of Prince Todoroki and how his own mismatched gaze might be just as empty right now.

"I won't underestimate you again," the man said, right before he snapped her staff over his knee.

"NO!" Uraraka's stomach lurched and her heart shot into her throat as she reached out but could do nothing to save her staff. It sparked a few times and then went down, turning an ashen color as he tossed the two pieces of useless wood to the ground. Emptiness threatened to swallow her and she couldn't move.

Gone. Her staff was gone. Somewhere inside of her, the magic she'd been born with flickered, but she did nothing to call it up. It was gone.

He raised a hand towards her. "I expected more from you, to be honest." Fire began to build in his hands. He had magic. He was capable of magic. This must have been how they had been able to break through her barriers and also why the attacks of their trading caravans was so devastating. Uraraka knew that she should defend herself, but she felt so hollow after the loss of her staff. "You're nothing but a weak girl in the end."

Uraraka clenched her fists at her side. Rage rose inside of her, spiraling through the emptiness until she felt nothing but pain and anger. Just as blue fire began to build from him, she raised up her hands palms up. It wasn't just a regular blow of wind this time. The last ones had been powerful, but nothing like this. No, this time, she raised up a tornado. It took hold of his fires, whipping them around until they were doused, and he had to put hands over his face to shield himself.

Too much. It was too much. The staff had helped her focus and control her magic. Without it, she was a storm and destruction laid at her feet and ruin in her hands.

She shoved the tornado towards her attacker. Fire licked at it again, a bright blue explosion leaping into the air. It was blinding and strong enough to knock anyone near them back, including her. When she sat back up, he was gone, though the scorched earth spoke of his presence. She crawled over to where the pieces of her staff laid on the ground, picking them up and mourning them. There was nothing she could do to fix it. He'd destroyed the magic inside of it.

Uraraka shook her head. It didn't matter. She was letting herself get distracted.

Wiping the tears at her face, she stood back up on wobbly feet. The last attack had been incredibly powerful, but it had sucked the energy out of her. She felt weak. It was not a feeling that she was accustomed to feeling and certainly not one she needed in the middle of a battle. She staggered forward, gritting her teeth, but without her staff to hold her up, she felt off balance.

And then she saw him. The prince. Her heart sang, if only for a moment. He was alive.

Of course, he was also dueling three people at once. He was exceptional with a sword. She had fully believed that Midoriya was the best swordsman in the kingdom, but Todoroki used his sword like it was an extension of his arm. He was fluid, like he was dancing in water. His outfit was torn, there was blood on his sleeve, his hair was sweaty and hung in his face, and soot from the fire covered his face. She stepped towards him, only to feel hands on her arms pulling her back.

Magic shot through her out of habit, shocking whoever had touched her. She spun around and saw a raider fall unconscious to the ground. She'd accidentally shocked Todoroki with magic too, but he hadn't even flinched. When she turned back around, Todoroki was gone again and she panicked, spinning around in circles in an attempt to find him. She had to calm down. Her magic would get the best of her without something to tether it to if she didn't.

"Uraraka, grab my hand!" a voice called above her.

Once more, she looked up, but instead of seeing Midoriya, it was Prince Todoroki. He was on his horse and had a hand outstretched down to her. There was a deadly serious expression on his face, one that sent her heart racing. She didn't need to be told twice. She took his hand and let herself be pulled onto the horse. She swung her leg over and found herself sitting in front of him, so that her back was snug against his chest. He wrapped an around around her waist, as if afraid she might be pulled away from him, and then reared the horse to turn around.

Iida stood at their left, guarding them. He was in most of his armor at least, but had a nasty cut on the side of his head where it looked like an arrow had grazed him and was holding one arm carefully against his middle, like it was injured and he wanted to move it as little as possible. With a sword in his other hand, he was able to deflect an arrow that might've otherwise struck the horse.

"Go!" Iida shouted.

"I'm not leaving my people behind!" Todoroki yelled back.

"We've fallen! Get as far away from here as possible! You need to find safety!"

Where would they go? They were at the border's edge. A trip back to the capitol through the kingdom was impossible, not with this attack blocking their only exit. The only way to go was forward, into the borderlands, even further from safety. Ahead was the unknown. Very few people had gone there and survived. Jirou would know where to go and how to survive, but the female knight was nowhere to be seen.

They had to go to the borderlands, if not to complete their journey, then to live another day.

Todoroki shook his head. "My place is here-"

"Your place is to live!" Iida interrupted, rearing on him.

Todoroki flinched back and tightened his grip on Uraraka. She had never seen him so expressive before, utterly gutted and in pain. He was ashamed of the idea of fleeing, ashamed that he would leave any of his people to suffer death while he ran away like a coward. It wasn't that though. Sometimes running meant living, just as she had learned that being quiet and doing as she was told meant another day without being entirely in chains.

"I'm trusting you," Iida said, not to Todoroki, but to her. "Get him to safety. Keep him alive. Whatever you have to do. We will find you!"

Uraraka swallowed down the bile in her throat, but nodded her head. Even if Todoroki didn't want to leave, she would ensure that he did. His life was of the utmost importance. She would give her own if it meant keeping him alive. That was her job. It wasn't just babysitting some pampered prince who knew nothing of pain. It was protecting the future of her kingdom and she knew that he was it. She knew that he would be a great king. She knew that he would bring a golden era to their lands.

But she had to make sure that he lived and that meant getting him to safety.

Todoroki seemed to understand that too. With a pained grimace, he snapped the reins of his horse and they took off through the destroyed camp. Dodging fires, debris, and bodies, Uraraka used her magic to deflect any arrows that were shot their way until finally they were out of the camp and away from the fighting. She turned her head to look around his arm, watching as the fire grew smaller and the shouts fainter, the sound of the horse's hooves trampling the dirt echoing in her head.

All she could do was hope that most of the company had survived. She couldn't bear the thought of losing any of her friends, not Midoriya with his bright smile and rambling nature when he got lost in thought or Iida with his seriousness and genuine desire to protect and help others. It wasn't until the camp was completely out of sight and the horse was racing away from the sun that Uraraka truly felt afraid. What if Iida didn't find them? What if they were alone? They had to get back to the castle, but like it or not, they were getting further and further away. Any moment now, they'd be crossing into the Borderlands and then they would truly be in trouble.

Without her staff, Uraraka felt lost. Could she truly protect the prince?

Todoroki was stiff behind her, outraged and upset, but he said nothing, a cold fury radiating from him. He focused on guiding his horse ahead in a relentless pace until it became clear that they weren't being followed and then allowed the animal to slow down to catch its breath. He didn't ease up though. She could practically hear him thinking and maybe even grinding his teeth.

Licking her lips, Uraraka started, "My prince-?"

"That title means very little now," Todoroki interrupted her, not unkindly but not gently either. It still made her flinch and she felt him soften against her in response. "Not out here anyways. We're officially in the Borderlands."

"How do you know?" Uraraka asked.

"Jirou told me of the monuments that the Borderlanders mark as the beginning of our kingdom," Todoroki told her. "We past them not too long ago."

Uraraka nodded her head, but felt at a loss besides that. They were in the Borderlands. Their kingdom and their people were behind them. Everyone had pictured that this moment would be some glorious thing, the dawn of a new day for their kingdom, but instead it was just the prince and a witch, dirty and bloody and a little broken as smoke rose in the distance behind them and before the sun.

"What do we do?" Uraraka asked.

"We survive," Todoroki responded, "and hope that the leader of these lands does not kill us outright after we come to them wholly unprepared."

This time, Uraraka was the one to harden and she twisted in the seat to glance at him. "He will not kill you."

Todoroki eyed her carefully. "Are you so certain of that?"

"I won't let anyone lay another finger on you," Uraraka said firmly. "It's my duty to protect you."

At this, Todoroki slumped a little, the weight of so many things resting on his shoulders. "I trust you to do so." She let him rest against her and she carefully took the reins of the horse from him. "It looks as if a storm is coming now that we've crossed the border. We should find shelter."

"Perhaps we should get more distance," Uraraka said, thinking of the man that had broken her staff. He'd been able to use magic. Even stranger, he'd made it sound like they had known each other - or should have, at least. She couldn't place him, but with those eyes… She glanced back at Todoroki, who was resting the side of his face against the back of her shoulder now, his own eyes closed. He was injured and worn thin. The moment they found shelter, she would need to heal him as best as she could without her herbs or potions.

This was nothing of what she had expected when the king had commanded that she go on this journey. Maybe she had pictured an attack happening, but she never thought it would leave her and the crowned prince stranded with only each other in a foreign land. Magic grew wild here and, despite the forlornness that had settled in her after her staff had been broken, she felt strong. She would have to keep them going, no matter what, and if any of the Borderlanders sought trouble, well, she would show them just how strong she felt on this ground.

She would protect Prince Todoroki and she had a feeling that he would be equally stubborn about her. The fact that he was half-unconscious and still had an arm around her waist told her as much.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes:** I wasn't planning on writing this chapter today, but then I opened the document and it just...happened? Hey, I'll take it. I love it when the writing does itself. Oh, hey, time for some mofo magic.

* * *

By the time Uraraka found a cave that looked suitable for shelter, Prince Todoroki was unconscious, completely slumped against her and his hold on her lax. She would've worried had she not been able to feel him breathing steadily, his breath hot against the back of her neck. He had simply exhausted himself during the battle. She was tired too, but had a stash of herbs that she could chew on to keep herself awake. To be honest, she'd wanted to press on a little further, but fat raindrops began to fall on them and the storm clouds had grown so dark that it looked closer to night than midday.

After pulling the tired horse up to the mouth of the cave, Uraraka reached back to wake the prince and then hesitated. Simply touching him like they were familiar with each other felt strange even though he was sleeping on her. He had done it enough times during this trip that it had started to almost become normal. With him out of it though, she wasn't so sure. Some things were ingrained in her so deeply; a week's worth of traveling and figuring out each other could only change so much.

Uraraka touched his side and shook him. "My prince, I'm sorry to wake you, but I found shelter."

Todoroki woke up slowly, but she could tell that he had by the way he tightened his grip around her waist, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Shouto is fine."

"Pardon?" Uraraka's cheeks warmed despite the chill in the air caused by the coming storm. He hadn't moved from her and his breath blew across her neck as he spoke, making her hair stand on end. It was as if she could feel the ghost of his lips against her skin.

"It's probably best to not announce that I'm the crowned prince while we're out here until we arrive at our destination," Todoroki pointed out. Of course, that made sense. Two weary travellers were less likely to garner attention or trouble than the crowned prince of the largest kingdom for thousands of miles. Uraraka knew how to be unassuming, seeing as how she'd spent nearly her entire life doing so. Todoroki wasn't in his entire get up and, dirty and a bit bloody, he didn't look much like royalty.

When Todoroki finally sat up straight and pulled away from her, Uraraka let out a small breath that he didn't seem to notice. Not that him holding her was uncomfortable, but she didn't know how to feel about it. Since she was sitting in front of him, she swung her left leg over and got off the horse first. She stumbled a little, her legs sore and weak from the long ride. Todoroki faired better than her, but then he had slept some. He took the reigns and guided the horse into the cave.

"I should check it out first," Uraraka said, stepping in front of him.

Thankfully, he didn't argue with her, but simply nodded. When she produced a ball of light in her hands, the whole area around them lit up. The cave didn't look like much as she walked through it, more like it had been cut out by wind and water from ages ago. It wasn't big and she was able to walk through it to the back where she brushed her free palm against the smooth wall. By the time she walked back to him, he was running a hand down the horse's face to soothe it.

"All good?" Todoroki asked, glancing back at her.

Uraraka nodded. "The coast is clear." She peered at the dark grey sky. "Or as close as it can be."

"At least it will provide us with water," Todoroki pointed out.

That was true. She could probably transfigure some rocks to form bowls so that they could capture water. It would have been nice if one of them had a water pouch, but there had been no time to grab supplies when they had fled the camp for their lives. Uraraka fingered the hem of her cowl. The only thing she could think was to maybe use one of her boots since they were leather. The horse didn't even have a saddle, which was partly why she was so sore from riding. That wasn't even counting the fact that they didn't have food.

They really were in a mess.

Rubbing at her eyes, Uraraka did her best to not sway on the spot. The magic of this land and those herbs had given her a spike of energy after fleeing, but now that the adrenaline had completely worn off, not even that could stop exhaustion from seeping into her bones.

It was only when she felt a hand grip her arm did her eyes snap open and she realized with some embarrassment that her body had begun to fall under consciousnesses while she was standing. Cheeks red, she met the prince's eyes and found them concerned. "You haven't rested since the battle."

"No need," Uraraka reassured him. "I have to heal you first."

"They're minor wounds that you need not exhaust your energy further on," Todoroki told him.

But Uraraka shook her head. "Even the smallest of wounds have the ability to fester and grow worse."

Todoroki pressed his lips together as he thought on her words before he let out a breath and she knew that she had won. Slowly, he eased himself down on the ground, wincing some as he put pressure on the arm that was bleeding. She followed him down, sitting on her knees while he sat cross-legged in front of her, and allowed the ball of light to slide off her hand so that it hovered above and cast an eerie glow over them.

"What do you need me to do?" Todoroki asked her.

Uraraka chewed on her bottom lip. "Normally I use potions and herbs, as they're the safest solution, but I'm limited to what I have on my person." She had a few things that might help, but she was missing ingredients. She should have packed better. "I'll have to heal you myself - by touch. The wounds are minor so it should be simple."

"Have you done it before?"

"Only on myself and Midoriya a few times," Uraraka answered. "It...does take more out of me." This was wherein the true problem lied. If she used this kind of magic, it would put her out of commission for an hour. If they were to get attacked during that time, she'd essentially be useless. She felt close to being so now as it was. She tried for a smile, but knew that it came off as tired. "I trust you to protect me in that time."

"Of course," Todoroki said, much more seriously than she'd intended. "You need to rest. You won't be able to do your job if you're too exhausted."

With that vague explanation over, Todoroki set to unbuttoning his shirt. Uraraka tried to school her expression into something blank, but found it difficult. It was wholly inappropriate, considering their situation and who it was, but besides a few kisses here and there, she'd never… Well, she'd seen boys and men without their shirts on hot days throughout the castle, mostly the hard laborers. There had been that one time that Uraraka had seen the prince and Midoriya sword fighting, both of them without their shirts on.

This was not the time to think of that though. She had to concentrate, not be stuck on some memory from months ago that only served to fluster her.

Luckily, the cure for that turned out to be Todoroki taking his shirt off now, as his body was littered with cuts and a nasty bruise over his ribs. He was one of the most proficient swordsman that she'd ever seen, even a step above Midoriya, but he could only do so much against multiple opponents at a time. Judging from the state of his dress, he had been caught unawares as well, probably when he was getting ready to sleep.

"Now what?" Todoroki asked, his voice strangely low and soft.

Uraraka swallowed. "Now…I heal you."

She sat up so that she could scoot closer to him and lifted her hand to hover just barely over his chest. Though the broken ribs were the larger wound, she needed to touch one that had drawn blood. She chose the one near his heart, a gasp from the tip of a sword, and pressed her palm against it so that his blood coated her skin. He hissed through his teeth, but didn't flinch away from her touch or otherwise complain.

Closing her eyes, Uraraka concentrated on the magic pulsing within her. Visualizing it now, she could feel just how much stronger it was. This land was truly something else. If the king had thought her strong back in their kingdom, he would be astounded here - and maybe angry. Too much power was just as dangerous as well. It was a threat, especially without her staff to tether it to her. How could she do magic without it? She remembered how wild it ran in her before she'd found that staff or it had found her. What if she lost control and hurt him?

No, she couldn't think of it like that. Magic was good. Magic was kind. Magic was healing. Magic was her.

Todoroki suddenly gasped as her magic began to pour into him. It was like a string wrapped around her arm and then around him, binding them so that she could heal him. It felt as if they'd both fallen into a cold river before the warmth like the sun washed over them. She'd done more powerful spells, hours ago even, but this felt like so much more. She felt as if he could've been on the brink of death and she would have been able to heal him. The globe of light above them began to burn brighter and brighter the more magic she used.

Her breath stuttered as her energy built up inside of her and he shivered almost violently until finally it was done. Her magic winked out like a light, spent for now and in need of recharging, and she slumped forward, her hand falling away from him. If not for him holding her up by her shoulders, she probably would have fallen right into his lap.

"Rest," Todoroki told her, his voice sounding far away.

"Your wounds…"

"As if they were never there," Todoroki reassured her as he eased her down onto the ground. They had nothing to cover her with or rest her head on, but she felt like she could sleep for days. She tugged on her hat and cowl, her movements stiff and weak. Todoroki's hands on hers stilled her and he gently pulled them away so that he could help her take off the garments and then ball them up for her to use as a pillow. It wasn't much, but it was better than a rock.

Her mind latched onto how hot he had felt, his heart beating fast under her touch, and the connection she'd felt in that moment as her magic healed him. She couldn't forget that, how for a moment, they'd felt like one, magic binding them together in some way she'd never felt before, not like the times she'd healed Midoriya. She didn't have time to linger on it for long. A few seconds later, despite her struggling, she was out like a light and she was left to the whims of her dreams.

* * *

 _Ochako…_

She's standing in front of her a stone door covered in what looks like glowing white ancient runes. She can't read them and yet she knows what they mean. Magic. Powerful magic, old magic, _destined_ magic.

 _Ochako…_

The voice is all around her and inside her mind at the same time. It's a part of her, this voice and magic, like it's been there her whole life but could never hear it. How long has it been calling her? How long has it been asking for her, chasing after her like the wind? She reaches out and touches the door and it burns like ice during the coldest winter days.

 _Ochako._

She's here. She's ready, though for what she isn't sure. The magic reads her thoughts and desires, feeding into her and her own energy feeding it. She's been waiting for this moment ever since the day she accidentally cast her first spell and frightened her parents. This is where she belongs.

And yet… She isn't alone. With her magic burning inside of her, she has never truly been alone, her power a beacon of light and a comforting glow. When she turns away from the wall, she sees that someone else is in the cavernous room with her. His back is to her and he's wearing unfamiliar clothes, but she would recognize him a mile away. His red and white hair is unmistakable almost as much as the way he holds himself.

The Prince is here.

When she reaches out to him, an impossible distance spreads between them, pulling him away from her and her heart leaps into her throat when he disappears in the dark. Magic swells inside of her as she wills him to be returned to her, burning and burning until finally a light shines. It has the same feel of the doorway, beckoning her forward.

"Ochako."

It's the prince's voice calling to her this time and she sucks in a gasp of air as her heart stirs. He's never called her by her given name before. Warmth blooms over her and the light glow brighter. It's just like when she healed him - how she felt pulled together to him with a string of magic.

 _Go to him,_ the magic tells her.

And she runs.

* * *

Uraraka's eyes snapped open, but she laid still, taking in the surroundings with her senses.

The first thing that registered in her mind was that they were still in the cave. She hadn't expected anything different, but it was still jarring to remember that they were essentially on the run. The second thing was the sound of the storm outside, blowing in cool air, and the crackling of a fire that Todoroki must have started while she was sleeping and before the storm hit. It was a small fire, the smoke not overwhelming, although it reminded her that she'd not eaten since the night before. She thought to be impressed by his survival skills, one she hadn't expected a prince to have, but her mind was racing too much to think of anything except for one thing.

The dream. The magic. The prince.

There was something in this cave and she didn't know whether to be elated or terrified.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes:** Holy shit, I had so much fun writing this chapter. I wrote it entirely today doing sprints and I was absolutely on fire. Everything just really came together for me. I went all in with the fantasy route using some classic (probably cliche) tropes, but it was a blast and I enjoyed every second of it. While I had an idea of what I wanted to happen in this chapter, it all kind of came to me as I was writing it, but it felt natural. NGL, this wasn't what I imagined when I wrote the first chapter, but I'm so pleased it went in this direction.

* * *

Convincing the prince to rest was a struggle in itself, but once she got him to lay down, using her cowl and hat as a pillow as she had done, he fell asleep quickly, proving to her how exhausted he was. Todoroki was quite difficult for a prince and not in the way she'd imagined over a week ago. He was a lot more committed to work than she thought anyone of royal blood would be. Of course, when it came to leading and maintaining a kingdom, there was a lot more of work, especially with a kingdom as large and flourishing as theirs. She didn't like admitting that the king didn't sit around doing nothing.

Maybe he didn't know what suffering was as much, but he knew work, which was evident in Todoroki's behavior. He had been taught that nothing came without hard work. He was nothing like the pampered members of the court, who had the wealth but not the responsibility of those above them.

With Todoroki asleep, Uraraka set out to further check the cave. When they had first arrived, she'd only done a cursory check to make sure no one or animals were inside, but now she knew they weren't alone. It wasn't a someone, but something. Even as the dream faded from her mind, the feeling it left behind pulsed in her chest, making her heart race. There was something in here - something deep, old, powerful - calling to her as she'd never felt before. She felt drawn deeper into the cave, as if lulled by a sweet song.

Magic was a song in a way. It was the music of the soul. A person could play it like an extension of themselves if they were talented enough. Just thinking of it now made Uraraka's fingers twitch, recalling how it had felt the heal the prince hours ago. She'd never experienced such a pure form of magic, but all she could think about was how warm and fresh it had been. It must have in part been due to the land they were on. It was different than their kingdom. Here, magic lived wild and free. It was in the grass, the dirt, the rain.

As she wandered further into the cave, a tiny ball of light hovering over her outstretched palm, Uraraka made sure now to stray too far from where Todoroki was sleeping. She couldn't protect him if she wasn't with him. It was hard not to be drawn too deep, but as long as the fire was visible, she didn't worry. There was something about this cave that was either tricking her into feeling safe or it truly was. It was the magic. No harm would come to her while it had her back.

The magic wanted her here - and it wanted the prince too.

A part of her knew she should be wary about it - she'd read old tales of magic drawing people in and refusing to let them go, a price of their foolishness or greed - but she couldn't be. Magic was kind. Magic was good. She'd had it with her all her life. Even before she had cast her true spell, it had been inside of her, only sleeping. Now it was wide awake and she felt like she was glowing with it.

Once she reached the back of the cave, Uraraka popped her hand up and the ball of light drifted toward the ceiling. It wasn't that high, not as high as the ceilings in the great hall of the castle, but a decent height. She reached out to brush her fingertips against the wall of the cave, feeling the rough textures of the rock turn to smooth where water had once carved it out. She closed her eyes as she walked along the edges, taking in the feel of it. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she felt like she would know it when she did.

Or it would know her.

"Ochako?"

Uraraka snapped her eyes open and spun around, ready to berate the prince for being awake, but there was no one there. She blinked in surprise, although she knew she should be afraid. When she looked to where the bonfire was, she saw the prince lying on the ground, still asleep. Her hand fell from the wall. She should go back to him, but she was loathed to return.

This was where she'd been standing in her dream, right here, and that was where he had been. Her dream had told her to go to him, but it had wanted her here. The door. She had to find the door. She knew it wanted her to find a way through to the heart of this mountain, but there didn't seem to be one. It was a muddle of contradictions, one she was struggling to figure out.

Sighing, Uraraka reluctantly walked back to the fire and doused her ball of light. With each step, she felt like she was going a little further away from where she needed to be, but she could not deny the peace that also came over her when she rested her eyes on Todoroki. He was safe and alive. Iida had entrusted her with the prince's life and she would not fail him.

It was more than that though. She felt tied to him, like if something happened to him, it would hurt her. It was hard for her to explain. She knew of magic like that - had read about it in books - but that wasn't what she'd done. It wasn't like she could do a spell without thinking of it consciously. Magic like that was only meant for dire and severe situations and his wounds hadn't been so bad that she needed to tie her life to his.

Sitting down next to Todoroki, she picked up a stick and poked absentmindedly at the fire. It was a beautiful thing, but her mind kept going back to the camp and how much of it had been destroyed. There had been so much fire everywhere, so bright it made it look like it was day. She might've thought it was if not for the smoke that had also permeated the air and made her choke on her lungs.

That fire had been horrifically strong, but then a part of it had been magic. She'd known she hadn't been the only capable of magic in their kingdom, but she had never met someone so strong as the leader of the band that had attacked their camp and destroyed her staff. He had to be strong in order to have done that with his bare hands. It didn't make sense. How had the king not known? The moment she'd shown signs of magic and tale had gotten wind to him, the king had sent for her to be brought to him.

How had that magic user escaped and she had not?

A noise to her left pulled her out of her muddled thoughts and she looked over to see Todoroki stirring awake. He hadn't slept for long, but it wasn't like lying on the hard ground with a little bit of cloth to use as a pillow was very comfortable. She wished he could've gotten more rest, but this would have to do. What little sleep she'd got earlier made her feel energized, but then she thought in part it had to do with the magic in the air as well.

Rubbing blearily at his face, Todoroki pushed himself up into the sitting position. He dropped his hand and stared into the fire with distant but surprisingly alert eyes for someone who had just woke up. She'd expected him to speak, but he remained silent, the fire glowing in his mismatched eyes. Maybe he was lost in thought. She didn't want to disturb him so she didn't say anything, returning her gaze back to the fire as well.

"I always wanted to do magic," Todoroki abruptly said. His voice was so out of the blue that she jumped a little, but then she looked over to him. His gaze was still on the fire. "I read that my ancestors used to be capable of magic - that all members of the royal family were - but it slowly thinned out until it died. No one knows why. Maybe we were too greedy. The larger the kingdom got, the weaker in magic they became."

"Magic is a fickle thing," Uraraka explained in a gentle tone. "No one really understands it, not even me. I don't know why I'm capable of it or even why I'm so strong."

"Maybe the fates chose you for a reason," Todoroki told her. "Maybe you have a destiny."

Uraraka's heart skipped a beat. That sounded an awful lot like a grand adventure, but he sounded sad, like he was afraid that he didn't. How much pressure was it on him as the crowned prince? He had an older sister and brother that should have technically been ahead of him in line for the throne, but the duty had fallen on his shoulders. Was that not a destiny?

"Well, if the fates chose me for something, then it must involve you in well since you're here with me," Uraraka pointed out, a little smile on her face.

Todoroki finally turned to look at her, but instead of smiling back at her, there was a serious set to his face and her smile faltered. "I dreamed I could do magic."

He lifted his hands and gazed down at them, turning them palm up. She was once again reminded that they were soft like she'd expected of a prince's hands. There were calluses from years of training with swords and other weapons, along with scars from any mistakes he had along the way. There was no magic in them though. Surely she would have felt something.

Still, Uraraka thought of the dream and what it might've meant. _Go to him._ Whatever magic was hidden in the depths of this cave, it wasn't meant for just her. If she did have a destiny, it was tied with him somehow.

Or maybe she was making all of this up on an exhausted and over-imaginative mind, especially since she was feeling adrift without her staff.

"It was an old dream I used to have as a kid," Todoroki continued, "the same one my father said drove my mother…" He closed his eyes and took a breath. If there was one rule everyone followed at the castle, it was that they did not talk about the queen, not even the princes or princess. "I told him about it once and he scolded me for it. Not that one can help what they dream - he acted like it was something I did on purpose - so I stopped talking about it, even when I kept having it over the years."

Uraraka tilted her head. "So you told no one else?" He shook his head. "Why?"

This was so curious. Most people didn't think about magic, if only because it wasn't part of their daily lives. It was only when they were confronted with her presence did they think about it and the reactions varied from excitement, wariness, jealousy, and outright fear. To find out that Todoroki had not only thought about magic often but dreamed about it - and he'd been right there in the castle the whole time and she'd never known…

"After a while, I thought I was being foolish," Todoroki admitted. "I didn't have magic and I never would. It was just a silly child's dream." His gaze flickered up to her. "And when you were brought to the castle, they stopped."

"Oh." Uraraka didn't know what to say about that. He had been six-years-old as well. This dream of magic must have been one of his first memories. Had it left because of her presence, as if she'd sucked up any of the leftover magic in the castle, or had it simply been a coincidence? She knew that some things just happened without any actual explanation or reason, but some things felt like there was a hand behind them as well.

"I'd forgotten about it." Todoroki held his left hand out to the fire, warming it up as a wind from the storm blew into the cave, causing the flames whip around rapidly before their eyes. "I haven't had it since then" - his gaze hardened - "until today."

Something swirled inside of her chest, causing her heart to race all over again. He'd had a dream about magic. She'd had a dream about magic and about him and this cave. It couldn't be a coincidence. She didn't like reading into things, fearing disappointment, but she couldn't let this go. Whatever it was gripped her tightly and put her in an excited daze.

Without thinking about it, Uraraka shot forward and grabbed his hands, startling him and making him stiffen for a moment before he relaxed. She shouldn't have done that - he was the prince, no matter what he said - but she didn't even consider the taboo of touching him without permission. Later she would be mortified over her behavior, but right now, it didn't even cross her mind.

Todoroki cleared his throat. "Uraraka?"

"I had a dream too," she told him excitedly. "When I fell asleep earlier, I mean. It was about magic and this cave and- It was about you." She felt like she was shining with magic. Even Todoroki looked swept up in her energy, his eyes going wide and bright too as she stared into them. His grey eye reminded her of those dark, beautiful snowy days and his blue eye of the hottest flames imaginable from the attack. "I dreamed of you."

Not giving him any time to react, Uraraka pulled her hands away from his and jumped to her feet. Todoroki was much slower about standing, picking up her cowl and hat for her in the process, but he followed her to the back of the cave away from the fire without question or complaint. Recalling the ball of light, she sent it back up to the ceiling so it cast a dim light over the entire back of the cave. She took her things back from him, putting them on, feeling at home in her hat.

"There was a door back here and it was all lit up with ancient runes that I couldn't read," Uraraka explained as she touched the rock with both hands this time. "I knew what they meant though. I couldn't tell you now, but in the dream, I didn't need to read them to know what they said." She glanced back at him. "It was a way into the heart of the mountain. There's old magic in here - something alive - and I think it has to do with you."

Todoroki frowned thoughtfully. "Sometimes dreams are just that - dreams. They don't mean anything."

"No, no." Uraraka shook her head. "This was different. It was special - I know it was - just like your dreams."

"They were just dreams, Uraraka," Todoroki told her.

She didn't believe him. She couldn't. She'd never had a dream like that before in her life and she knew that it meant something. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again and pressed the flats of her palms against a smooth part of the rock.

 _Listen. Breathe. Feel. Believe._

Uraraka opened her eyes, pulling her hands away from the wall. After searching the ground, she found a rock sharp enough to suit her purposes. She bent down to pick it up, pressing it against her palm as she stood it, and sliced the sharpest part of it over her skin. Todoroki gasped sharply and reached out to stop her, but it was too late by the time he snatched her wrist. It stung and she winced as blood seeped out from the cut, but she dropped the rock and looked up at him.

"Why would you do that?" Todoroki demanded, a horrified look on his face.

"Because blood magic is the strongest and oldest magic there is," Uraraka answered. The look didn't leave him. To be honest, she didn't know much about blood magic because it was the oldest. There were very few books on the matter, most of them too destroyed to be read or in dead languages she couldn't figure out. Maybe in the dream she had. That was what had made her think of it. Maybe the words for that magic were buried deep in her.

Todoroki let go of her wrist so she could press her hand against the rock wall again. Almost instantly, heat began to blossom in her hand, only to turn into a chill that ran all the way up her arm and through her body, chilly enough to make her shiver. A second later, her blood began to criss-cross along the wall, as if pulled from her, creating a pattern and designs from her dream.

She wasn't doing this. Both she and Todoroki gaped at the wall, him grabbing her by the shoulders as she stumbled backward. This was magic working on its own.

The dark blood spiderwebbed across the wall until it stopped and began to glow just like her dream. She got the feeling that this door had been waiting for her - or at least someone with magic in their blood. Maybe it was how they had found this place in the first place. Had they found it or had it found them? Had the magic deep inside of it called them here?

When the rock began to shimmer, Uraraka gasped. It never fully disappeared, but it became translucent so she could see through it, like stained glass, revealing a dark tunnel that led further into the cave.

She took a step forward out of instinct when Todoroki caught her around the waist. "Wait. Do you think it's wise to go deeper into this?"

Uraraka turned around to look at him. "I don't think we have a choice."

"Fate," Todoroki surmised, the word sounding almost grim in his mouth.

"Destiny," Uraraka corrected and then she pulled out of his grip and stepped through the shimmering rock wall into the tunnel. Perhaps he sighed in consternation, but he didn't hesitate to follow her through. Snapping her fingers, the ball of light from inside the main part of the cave zipped through and returned to hovering over her hand so she could light the way.

"It's strange," Todoroki said behind her. "Despite being hidden behind that wall, the air is fresh down here."

Uraraka hummed. "It's definitely a lot cleaner than the royal stables." She glanced back at Todoroki, who was giving her a questioning look, and shrugged her shoulders. "I slept in there and the servants' quarters when I was first brought to the castle before a proper place was found for me to stay."

Todoroki's face was already pale in the light of her orb, but she saw the way his eyes widened. "That's…"

"In the past," Uraraka said, turning back around to look ahead. "I have a much cozier place now in the castle. The servants' even come in to take my sheets once a week. I'm not sure if they're supposed to or one of them is just really superstitious. At any rate, it's nicer than many people have in their homes. I've no room to complain." Before he could bring it up again, as she knew he would from the quiet horror that radiated from him, she moved the conversation to the cave. "I wonder how far this goes down."

He didn't say anything at first, clearly still focused on that bit of her history she'd just told him, but Todoroki must have realized she didn't want to talk about it, since he replied, "I don't know." He ran his hand along the walls. "It's too smooth to have been made naturally, I think, but I'm not an expert on construction."

"Oh? So there's something you're not good at?" Uraraka asked teasingly, smiling to herself. It was allowed since he was behind her and couldn't see her face.

"I'm still young," Todoroki replied. "I can still learn a thing or two."

Now was not the time for jokes - and yet it was. Her heart was still heavy after the attack on that camp and her stomach was aching for food. The only thing keeping her going so firmly was the promise of magic. She felt safer with it. (She felt safer with him.) A bit of light during this dark time would keep them both going. He needed it as well, even if his steadfast and distant demeanor suggested he'd never thought so before.

They spent what felt like at least thirty minutes wandering deeper into the tunnel. With no twists or turns, the fear of getting lost wasn't there. All they had to do was walk back the way they came in order to get back to the mouth of the cave where the prince's horse was the only one getting a proper rest. She didn't know where this would end, but the further they went, the more her heart pounded in her chest, as if to some sort of rhythm. Something down here resonated deeply within her, keeping her completely focused on the darkness ahead of her.

Both curiously and not-so curiously, Todoroki had gone silent as well and she could feel an intense energy coming from him behind her. In the time that she'd seen him growing up in the castle, she had known he was reticent at best, but she'd always attributed it to him being standoffish and snobby because he was the crowned prince. She couldn't have been more wrong about him, although he did remain aloof on some level even as he broke down the walls she'd carefully constructed between herself and anyone of high blood. However, this silence felt different. It was charged, like he couldn't say anything.

Maybe he felt it too, but unlike her, he didn't know what it meant and it disquieted him. Magic this strong, if he could feel it, had to be overwhelming to someone who'd never wielded it before.

Just as Uraraka was about to break the silence, the light of her orb reflected on something in the distance. Her heart skipped a beat. Before she knew it, she hadn't just picked up the pace - she was full on running - and the prince was calling out after behind her, his footsteps echoing in the tunnel as he followed her. The closer she got, the more she recognized: a crisper air, the sound of water, and warmth like from the sun, all of which should have been impossible inside of a mountain.

She didn't know what it was at all, but that reflection couldn't have caught her attention more. She focused on nothing else but where she'd seen it until finally she burst into a wide open space and skidded to a halt. Using her magic, she made her orb grow larger and she threw it into the air. Unlike the cave they'd slept in, this area was massive like a cathedral, taller than even the ceiling of the great hall. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw the small waterfall and creek. Even Todoroki stared wide-eyed and in awe as his eyes swept around the room.

This room was, for lack of a better word, magical.

Uraraka was startled out of her thoughts as Todoroki stepped next to her and then continued forward. There was something strangely stiff about his movements, as if he wasn't completely in control of himself. She watched him walk to the center of the room to where the waterfall ended in a small pool of water. He bent down to one knee and held out his hand over the water, hesitating only a few inches above it.

"I…" Todoroki licked his dry lips. They were in desperate need of clean water, but he didn't look thirsty in the sense that he wanted something to drink. It was more like he was in desperately anticipating something. "I know this place. It was in my dream. A waterfall in a cave - no, in the heart of a mountain. I used to draw pictures of it for my mother. Such imagination, she'd say, was like magic in itself."

"She was right," Uraraka said as she slowly made her way up behind him. "What else was in your dream?"

"There was a sword," Todoroki told her, staring down at his reflection in the startlingly clear water, "made up of fire and ice. I used to think of how beautiful it was, but then as I got older…" He furrowed his brow. "As I got older, the more terrifying it became. It was dangerous. It was something to be feared."

Uraraka bit her lip, not knowing what to say to that. All her life she had grown up believing in the good of magic. She had only ever used it for good, not counting a few little pranks here or there or to nick some sweets from the kitchen. The royal chef was not fond of her poking around the kitchen before food was served. The idea of fearing magic was such a foreign concept to her even though she saw it in the faces of people every day. She couldn't understand it.

And yet…

The man who had destroyed her staff came to mind. All those scars, his blue flames, the grin stitched onto his face, those cold dead equally blue eyes that told her he could kill her and not feel anything. His magic had unsettled her, if only because she'd never crossed paths with anyone as strong as her. She'd never met someone who used magic for such awful things. She had seen bad magic before from the few users she'd come across here and there - no one near her level - but not like that. How many of their people had his fire alone killed?

Maybe she could understand why Todoroki had feared the magic of his dreams. It wasn't normal to him. It was something beyond his imagination and beliefs. He had wanted to believe in magic and be capable of it, but that had not been meant for him. His father had squashed those dreams until there was nothing left in him. After all, a king could not afford for his mind to be in the clouds.

That was what Uraraka was for. She was the tool - the hammer - for the king to use instead. For now, it was his father's, but one day, it would be his. She would be his to wield as he chose.

"I didn't want to believe it," Todoroki muttered to himself. "I did, but I didn't. How could I…?" He closed his eyes and pulled his hand from the water to hide his face. "There were rumors my mother did magic or she was at least capable of it. My father forbade any talk of it after she was sent away to the countryside estate - and when it burned down in the middle of winter and she died in the fire, talk of her ended altogether - but deep down, I always thought maybe…" He shook his head again, as if trying to rid himself of the memories. "It was a child's dream."

"This isn't a dream," Uraraka assured him. "It's as real as me."

Todoroki pulled his hand away and twisted his head to look up at her with one grey eye, the color he had inherited from the queen. "And who's to say you aren't a dream too?"

"Was I in the dream too?" Uraraka asked.

"No, I was alone." Todoroki looked down at the water. "I didn't feel alone though. Sometimes that comforted me; sometimes it frightened me."

"What do you feel now?"

He let out a breath. "Everything."

It wasn't a proper answer and yet she somehow understood him. She knew exactly how he felt because she was feeling the same thing. Elated, scared, overwhelmed, excited, desperate. Everything all at once, the emotions battling each other for dominance. She didn't know what she felt. All she knew was that this was where they were supposed to be.

Uraraka laid a hand on his back in an attempt to soothe him. "What happened in the dream? Where did the sword come into play?"

"I reached into the water," Todoroki said and then he did just that. He took a sharp breath as his fingers breached the clear liquid, like it was cold, but he didn't stop. "I reached in and I grabbed the sword at the bottom of the pool."

There was nothing in the water though.

And then his hand grasped a hold of something that wasn't there and Uraraka felt him tense underneath her touch. She froze as well, eyes locked onto his hand in the water.

"Uraraka," he managed to choke out.

If she could wrap her arms around him and keep him centered, she would, but all Uraraka could do was stand behind him and keep her hand on his back. She watched as he took a shaky breath and slowly began to pull his hand out of the water. She whispered an old prayer under her breath when the golden hilt of a sword breached the water, then his hand, and finally the rest of obsidian metal sword as he stood up straight. He flipped it in his hand with practiced ease so that the end was pointing up and glittered in the light.

The sword wasn't made up of ice and fire like in Todoroki's dream, but it was beautiful and it was magic. Oh yes, it was. It was made even more so by the fact he was holding it, looking more like royalty than ever before as he held it in front of him. She also knew not just anyone could have picked that sword out of the water. She hadn't even seen it to know it was there and Todoroki hadn't seen it either. He'd only remembered it from a childhood dream and felt it. The magic of this cave had been calling to him, but he had needed her to guide him here.

They were intertwined, but she couldn't have said how or why. She could barely breathe, much less think.

Todoroki finally tore his eyes away from the sword to look at her, confusion and yet understanding deep within them, his face full of open wonder. He knew this sword and, yes, maybe it frightened him a little that it seemed to know him too, but it was his. He had been meant to come here. This was a part of his destiny, which made her wonder. Was she only a part of his or was there something even greater in store for her?


End file.
